Physical fitness and health concerns are among the areas of highest concern for people around the world. More than ever, people are frequenting health clubs and performing exercise routines at home in order to lose weight, improve muscle tone, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. One (1) popular exercise device found at many homes and gyms is that of the exercise ball. It is commonly used to strengthen core body muscles such as the abdominal muscles and back muscles. It does this by using the instability of the ball to force the user to engage additional core muscles to remain balanced. However, the round nature of the invention poses several problems.
The ball has a tendency to move about on the floor during use. This requires the user to brace it against an unmovable object such as a wall, which limits the exercise routines that can be performed and the range of motion of most exercises. Additionally, depending on the nature of the floor, it can be difficult to gain traction with one's feet during use. This forces the user to brace their feet against an unmovable object such as another exercise machine, a cabinet, a wall or the like.
There have been various attempts to provide exercise devices which are intended to be used with exercise balls to address one (1) or more of these problems. Typically, these devices also attempt to include ancillary exercise equipment. Examples of these devices can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,587, issued to Strong et al. discloses an apparatus and method for exercising having a base with a concave recess to receive the exercise ball and at least one attachment for an elastic exercise band.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,026, issued to Almada, discloses an abdominal exercise station intended to allow the user to perform sit-up type exercises having a frame assembly with footholds and handholds for stabilization while performing the exercises.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,674,216, issued to Bolling, discloses a fitness apparatus also having a base with a concave recess and attachable adjustable resistance training mechanisms for a variety of strength training exercises performed atop the exercise ball.
While these devices may achieve their purported objectives each suffer from one (1) or more disadvantage or deficiency related to design or utilization. Particularly, none of these devices provide for a convenient and adjustable way to stabilize the body of the exerciser while performing exercises on the exercise ball. Additionally, these devices limit the position of the body of the exerciser during the exercises.